Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

ScienceDirect
Procedia Computer Science 72 (2015) 382 389

The Third Information Systems International Conference

The Impact of Website Quality on Online Purchase Intention

of Organic Food in Malaysia: A WebQual Model Approach
Jasur Hasanov, Haliyana Khalid*
Putra Business School, UPM Serdang, 43400, Malaysia

Abstract

This paper presents valuable insight into consumers online purchase intentions regarding organic foods.
Specifically, it examines the influence of website quality on consumers intention to purchase organic
food online based on the Malaysian perspective. The study employed quantitative method; where 304
respondents participated in a survey. The results indicate that website quality has indirect impact on
online purchase intentions of health foods in Malaysia through the full mediation of customer satisfaction.
On the other hand, demographic factors had no significant effect on online purchase intention.

Authors. Published
by Elsevier
B.V. This is an
open access
article under
the CC
BY-NC-ND license
2015
2015The
Published
by Elsevier
Ltd. Selection
and/or
peer-review
under
responsibility
of the scientific
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
committee of The Third Information Systems International Conference (ISICO 2015)
Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of Information Systems International Conference (ISICO2015)

Keywords: Website quality, Customers purchase intention, Customer satisfaction, Organic food

1. Introduction
Concerns about conventional agriculture practices, food safety, human health, animal welfare, and the
environment have been increasing lately all around the world. As a result, the demand for organic food
products has been growing simultaneously. Increasing demand for organically produced products has
been observed in Malaysia too. Imported organic food products in Malaysia capture more than 60% of all
organically grown products sold in the country [1]. This is because people in the country have gained
better financial positions and are more knowledgeable about health and wellness issues, making them
more selective in food choices [2].
Recent research indicates that Malaysian consumers interest in the consumption of organically grown
food products has been growing over the past few years [3]. However, the Malaysian Agricultural

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +603-86560350; fax: +603-89421584.

E-mail address: haliyana@putrabs.edu.my

1877-0509 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of Information Systems International Conference (ISICO2015)
doi:10.1016/j.procs.2015.12.153

Jasur Hasanov and Haliyana Khalid / Procedia Computer Science 72 (2015) 382 389

Research and Development Institute, which focuses on the modernization of the agricultural sector in
Malaysia, states that the organic food industry within the country is still small. One of their efforts to
overcome this is to increase the online presence of organic products in Malaysia. To date, there are hardly
any efforts by retailers to sell organic food online in the country despite the exceptional exposure of ecommerce in Malaysia.
Online shopping websites are significantly important for businesses, retailers, and consumers with their
rapidly growing innovative features. For that reason, organizations must develop high quality websites
that provide a better online experience to attract and retain their customers in the e-retail marketplace
[6].Therefore, studies state that measuring the quality of their websites, based on customers perception of
website quality and requirements of the industrial competition in which the organization is operating, is
crucial for organizations.
In this paper, we present findings from our study which employed the WebQual theory to assess the
quality of organic food shopping websites in Malaysia based on user perceptions. The WebQual model is
a tool to measure the usability, information quality, and service interaction quality of websites. It is often
used to measure the quality of e-commerce websites (WebQual, 2015). The resources used to develop
WEBQUAL 4.0 are related to Information Systems (IS) assessments, which means the model has a strong
foundation based on various IS assessments [7].The WebQual model, developed by [8] argues that
website quality depends on three main dimensions: usability, information quality, and service interaction
quality. The WebQual model has been applied to some popular websites in England such as Amazon,
Bertelsmann Online (BOL), and Internet Bookshop (IBS) to examine the quality of these websites from
customers perceptions [9].
2. Background Information
2.1 Website Quality
According to one study [10], the perception of customers about website quality is based on features in
a website that meet customers needs and impress the total excellence of that website. The authors of the
study also mentioned that the multiple dimensions of website quality can be categorized as security,
enjoyment, information quality, ease of use, and service quality. At the same time, website design is an
important determinant of website features, and is critical in achieving the quality of service offered to
customers through the website. Crucial features in a successful website design are aesthetic appearance,
navigation, and an organized and well-managed content display [11].
Attractive and interesting effects in e-commerce websites motivate consumers to engage in online
shopping activities [12]. According to a group of researchers [13], website features have an important
influence on online purchase intention. Plus, an informative website enables customers to compare and
evaluate product alternatives, thereby increasing customer satisfaction and contributing to online purchase
intention [14]. The quality of information offered by a brand on online shopping websites is also an
important factor. One particular study reveals that information quality has the highest influence on
customer satisfaction among all website quality dimensions [15]. In this research, the dimensions of the
WebQual model (usability, information quality, and service interaction quality) were used as the main
determinants of the independent variable, website quality.
2.2 Mediating Variable: Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is a common terminology used in the business environment. However, customer
satisfaction is more often replaced by the term user satisfaction in the context of Information Systems
(IS). IS professionals use user satisfaction to examine the performance of a particular IS application [8].

383

384

Jasur Hasanov and Haliyana Khalid / Procedia Computer Science 72 (2015) 382 389

According to recent research, customer satisfaction from an online shopping website involves the
reactions or feelings of customers during their experience on the particular shopping website. Another
study mentions that customer satisfaction is the level of the customers expectations met by the product or
services when customers experience these [17, 18]. Several studies have been done to examine the
influence of website quality on customer satisfaction. A group of researchers [19] state that website
quality has an important influence on customer satisfaction. Another study mentions that website quality
has a significant influence on the level of customer satisfaction whereby as website quality increases,
customers tend to use the website more frequently [20]. One study, which investigated the influence of
website quality on customer satisfaction and purchase intentions [21], found that website quality has a
direct effect on customer satisfaction and that customer satisfaction, in turn, influences customers
intention to purchase. It has also been shown by research that consumers purchase intention behaviors
can be driven by website quality or consumers past online purchase experience [22].Consequently,
customer satisfaction leads to online purchase intention of consumers, and as a result will positively
influence the return rate.
2.3 Demographic Characteristics
Demographic characteristics that may influence online purchase intention include age, gender,
education, income, occupation, religion, race, nationality, family size, family life cycle, and social class.
Demography has been used in marketing as a useful tool for customer segmentation, which is significant
for retailers in terms of positioning and targeting. Lina et. al [23] state that the impact of demographic
characteristics on online shopping is among the most examined factors by researchers. Factors like
gender, age, income, and occupation are the initial influencing factors on online shopping behavior of
consumers. Mona et al. [10] state that online purchase behaviors are different for female and male
consumers due to privacy, virtual experience, security, and credibility issues. Although shopping is
considered a womans activity because women usually deal with household shopping, research indicates
that male consumers shop more and spend more money online compared to females [24]. Another
research found that organic food is mostly included in young female customers diets [25].
One study that examined consumers attitudes towards e-ticketing in Malaysia found that age is an
influencing factor on consumers online shopping behavior. According to the study, the younger
generation is more interested in online shopping as their knowledge of technology is higher than that of
older generations [26, 27]. Similarly, [24] found that education level and income are factors that impact
online shopping behavior of consumers. Another research conducted in Brazil states that, in Brazil and in
other countries, people who regularly use the Internet usually have higher levels of income and education
[9]. Justin & Jyoti [25] claim that income is an influencing factor because consumers with higher income
buy online products more often. Their study also mentions that a higher education level positively
influences purchasing of organic foods as well. In summary, the existing research literature strongly
suggests that the demographic characteristics of consumers play a significant role in their online purchase
intentions.
2.4 Purchase Intention
Customers purchase intention is considered a predictor of their actual behavior [21]. As such, it is
important for businesses to understand their customers purchase intentions. Shaheen Mansori et al. [13]
state that consumers plans to purchase products and services, which is expressed by a cognitive state, is
defined as purchase intention [28]. According to [29] customers perceptions of website quality and
satisfaction have a positive impact on their purchasing intentions. In addition, customer satisfaction has
been found to mediate the relationship between firms perceived quality and customer purchase intentions

Jasur Hasanov and Haliyana Khalid / Procedia Computer Science 72 (2015) 382 389

[30]. According to [21] customers online purchase intentions are positively influenced by website quality
through the mediation of customer satisfaction.
2.5 Conceptual Framework
Based on the WebQual 4.0 model and other studies described above, a research model was proposed
with three determinants of consumers online purchase intentions of organic foods. These determinants
are: Website Quality (WQ), Customer Satisfaction (CS), and Demographic Characteristics. Website
Quality and Demographic Characteristics are the independent variables, while Customer Satisfaction is
the mediating variable of this research. Online Purchase Intention (OPI) of organic foods is the dependent
variable of the study.
The dependent variable is the variable of primary interest in this research - online purchase intention
(OPI) of online shopping of organic foods. The variables that have either negative or positive impacts on
the dependent variable are the independent variables of this research. So, if the independent variable
increases by one unit then the dependent variable will either increase or decrease. For example, when the
level of website quality increases then consumers online purchase intention of organic foods will also
increase. In summary, the independent variable influences the dependent variable and this measures the
results of the research based on the hypotheses. The theoretical framework proposes that website quality
and demographic characteristics are independent variables influencing consumers online purchase
intentions of organic foods.
The relationship between website quality and online purchase intention is mediated by customer
satisfaction in this proposed model. In this study, the hypotheses tested are:
H1a: There is a relationship between website quality and online purchase intention.
H1b: There is a relationship between customer satisfaction and online purchase intention.
H1c: There is a relationship between website quality and customer satisfaction.
H2a: Website quality positively influences online purchase intention.
H2b. Customer satisfaction positively influences online purchase intention.
H2c. Website quality positively influences customer satisfaction.
H2d: Age has an impact on consumers online purchase intention of organic foods.
H2e: Marital status has an impact on consumers online purchase intention of organic foods.
H2f: Employment has an impact on consumers online purchase intention of organic foods.
H2g: Gender has an impact on consumers online purchase intention of organic foods.
H2h: Income has an impact on consumers online purchase intention of organic foods.
H2i: Education level has an impact on consumers online purchase intention of organic foods.
H3: Customer satisfaction mediates the relationship between website quality and online purchase
intention.

3. Research Methodology
A descriptive research methodology was employed to test the research hypotheses using surveys as the
research instrument. A total of 304 respondents participated in the survey. The collected data was
analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.In order to achieve the
research objectives and test the hypotheses, different types of analyses were conducted including
reliability and validity analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and bootstrapping analysis.
While the first three are commonly used in descriptive analyses, bootstrapping analysis was particularly

385

386

Jasur Hasanov and Haliyana Khalid / Procedia Computer Science 72 (2015) 382 389

used in this study to test the mediating effect of customer satisfaction, the mediating variable, on the
relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
4. Findings
4.1 Demographic analysis
The number of female respondents (66.1%) is approximately twice the number of male respondents
(97.7%) are below 40 years old, which can be considered relatively young. As expected, the sample is a
highly educated group as 98.1% of respondents have undergraduate or postgraduate degrees. Another
interesting fact is that a majority of the respondents (95.7%) earn less than RM5000 as monthly income,
which is below the Malaysian average household income of RM5, 900 (approximately USD1650). Also,
the majority of respondents are single (86.8%), while only 12.8% of them are married and only one
respondent (0.3%) is either divorced or widowed. In terms of employment, most of the respondents
(86.5%) are students enrolling in different levels of studies while 8.6% of respondents are working in
organizations and 8 respondents (2.6%) are owners of their own businesses.
Based on the findings, local shopping websites are preferred for online shopping by 68.8% of
respondents compared to international shopping websites, which are preferred over local websites by only
26.3% of respondents. In addition, 4.9% of respondents make their online purchases from both local and
international websites. The majority of the respondents (65.1%) state they make online purchases once or
twice a year while 29.9% of respondents state once or twice a month as their answer. The rest of the
respondents (n=15) make online purchases at least once a week. Most of the respondents spend less than
RM500 monthly on online shopping, while only 5.6% of respondents make online purchases that amount
to more than RM500 per month.
The findings of this study also reveal some important organic food purchasing statistics of respondents.
The results show that only 2.3% of respondents buy organic food from online shopping websites while
the remaining 97.7% of respondents purchase organic food products from supermarkets, convenience
stores, or other sources. Most respondents (40.5%) purchase organic foods at least once or twice a month
and about half of them (49.3%) spend between RM31 and RM100 per month on organic food.
4.2 Overall results
The first three hypotheses were tested through correlation analysis. The analysis shows that CS has a
relationship with OPI and WQ has a relationship with CS. However, while H1b and H1c are supported,
H1a is not supported:
x H1a, which proposed that there is a relationship between website quality and online purchase
intention, is not supported (r=0.045, p>0.05).
x H1b, which proposed that there is a relationship between customer satisfaction and online
purchase intention, is supported (r=0.237, p<0.05).
x H1c, which proposed that there is a relationship between website quality and customer
satisfaction, is supported (r=0.339, p<0.05).
To overcome the limitation of correlation analysis, linear regression analysis was employed to test
hypotheses H2a to H2i. In the first regression model, the analysis using eight independent variables has a
coefficient of multiple determinations, or R2, of 0.070, which means that 7% of the variance of OPI could
be explained by a combination of the eight variables. The main objective of this study is to determine the
impact of website quality on online purchase intention of organic food, and this models R2 value (0.070)
shows that only 7% of the variance in online purchase intention (OPI) is influenced by the significant

Jasur Hasanov and Haliyana Khalid / Procedia Computer Science 72 (2015) 382 389

independent variables of this study. The remaining 93% of consumers online purchase intention is driven
by unknown factors or variables not included in this study.
Apart from that, the t-test results declare that customer satisfaction (CS) has a significance level of
0.000. Therefore, CS can explain online purchase intention (OPI). On the other hand, the rest of the
independent variables have significance levels that are higher than 0.05. Thus, they do not influence OPI.
Finally, bootstrapping analysis was used to test the last hypothesis of this research, which proposes the
existence of a mediation between website quality and online purchase intention through customer
satisfaction. In this research, thirteen hypotheses were proposed and five of them are supported while
eight are not supported based on the analytical findings. A summary of the results of the study is shown in
Table 1 below:
Hypothesis

Variables

Technique

H1a

WQ - OPI

Correlation

H1b

CS - OPI

Correlation

H1c

WQ - CS

Correlation

H2a

WQ - OPI

Regression

H2b

CS - OPI

Regression

H2c

WQ - CS

Regression

H2d

Age - OPI

Regression

H2e

Marital status - OPI

Regression

H2f

Employment - OPI

Regression

10

H2g

Gender - OPI

Regression

11

H2h

Income - OPI

Regression

12

H2i

Education level - OPI

Regression

13

H3

WQ CS OPI
(mediation)

Bootstrapping

Findings
(r=0.045,
p>0.05)
(r=0.237,
p<0.05)
(r=0.339,
p<0.05)
( = - 0.080,
p > 0.05)
( = 0.331, p <
0.05)
( = 0.331, p <
0.05)
( = 0.119, p >
0.05)
( = - 0.236,
p > 0.05)
( = 0.050, p >
0.05)
( = - 0.046,
p > 0.05)
( = 0.143, p >
0.05)
( = 0.069, p >
0.05)
(ab = 0.1790,
p < 0.05)

Results
Not supported
Supported
Supported
Not supported
Supported
Supported
Not supported
Not supported
Not supported
Not supported
Not supported
Not supported
Supported

5.Discussion
This research developed a model to determine the influence of website quality on customer satisfaction
and online purchase intention of organic foods in Malaysia using the WebQual 4.0 instrument. The
analytical outcomes prove that website quality has a positive impact on customer satisfaction. This
finding is supported by previous studies by [19] and [20], who found that website quality is an important
predictor of customer satisfaction. However, there is no significant correlation between website quality
and online purchase intention of organic foods in Malaysia although previous studies found that website
quality has an impact on online purchase intention [16, 13]. The results of the mediation analysis indicate
that customer satisfaction fully mediates the relationship between website quality and online purchase
intention. This study also reveals that none of the demographic factors used in this research is a predictor
of online purchase intention of organic food in Malaysia.
As website quality has an indirect effect on the online purchase intention of organic food products,
practitioners should also align the quality of their online stores with customers expectations. To increase

387

388

Jasur Hasanov and Haliyana Khalid / Procedia Computer Science 72 (2015) 382 389

the level of online purchase intention, e-retailers of organic food should possess relevant marketing
strategies which include creating awareness on the benefit of organic food to the public, establishing
affiliates network and conducting constant promotions to their target audience.
Despite the fact that this study has able to achieve its research objectives, there were some research
limitations that need to be addressed. Firstly, most of the respondents were students. Secondly, the
sample population was from a university. Based on the sample population and the demographic disparity,
respondents were not equally represented. Therefore, the generalizability of the findings to all consumers
in Malaysia is limited. Future research should extend the distribution of questionnaires to areas outside
the Klang Valley area as well as to other states in Malaysia. Apart from this, it should also be expanded to
other age groups.
5. Conclusion
Although the study cannot represent all Malaysian consumers, it has provide a valuable insights that
can be further explored by other researchers and practitioners that would like to improve user engagement
and consumer purchasing intention in organic food website. However, it is important to understand that
website quality is not the only determining factors that could increase consumer purchasing intention.
Other qualities such as good customer service, efficient product distribution and logistics and also
positive reviews from customers also play an important role.

References
[1] Jan, P. Voon et.al (2011). Determinants of Willingness to Purchase Organic Food: An Exploratory Study Using Structural
Equation Modeling. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 14(2), 103-120.
[2] Chiew, Shi Wee et. al. (2014). Consumers Perception, Purchase Intention and Actual Purchase Behavior of Organic Food
Products. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 3(2), 378-397.
[3] Musdiana et. al (2010). Consumers Perception and Purchase Intentions Towards Organic Food Products: Exploring Attitude
Among Academician. Canadian Social Science, 6(6), 119-129. doi: 1923-6697
[4] Muhammad et.al (2013). An Empirical Study on Revealing the Factors Influencing Online Shopping Intention Among
Malaysian Consumers. Journal of Human and Social Science Research, 1(1), 9-18.
[5] Avanti, Kumar. (2011). Malaysians spent US$604 million online shopping in 2010: PayPal. Retrieved 03/08/2015, from
http://computerworld.com.my/tech/internet/malaysians-spent-us604-million-online-shopping-in-2010-paypal/
[6] Stuart, J. et. al (2003). Measuring Web site quality improvements: a case study of the forum on strategic management
knowledge exchange. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 103(5), 297-309.
[7] Stuart, J. et. al (2002). An Integrative Approach to the Assessment of E-Commerce Quality. Journal of Electronic Commerce
Research, 3(3), 114-127.
[8] Tarigan, Josua. (2008). User Satisfaction Using Webqual Instrument: A Research on Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). Jurnal
Akuntansi dan Keuangan, 10(1), 34-47.
[9] Ueliton et.al (2011). Evaluation of Perceived Quality of the Website of an Online Bookstore: An Empirical Application of the
Barnes and Vidgen Model. Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management, 8(1), 109-130.
[10] Mona et. al (2013). Linking trust, perceived website quality, privacy protection, gender and online purchase intentions. IOSR
Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM), 13(4), 63-72
[11] Nor Azureen et.al (2014). Attributable E-commerce toward Purchase Intention: Online Search of Food Product. The SIJ
Transactions on Industrial, Financial & Business Management (IFBM), 2(3), 128-134.
[12] Ganesh, J. , Reynolds, K.E. , Luckett, M. , & Pomirleanu, N. . (2010). Online shopper motivations, and e-store attributes: An
examination of online patronage behavior and shopper typologies. Journal of Retailing, 86(1), 106-115.
[13] Shaheen Mansori, Cheng, Boon Liat, & Lee, Hui Shan. (2012). A Study Of E-Shopping Intention In Malaysia: The Influence
Of Generation X & Y. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 6(8), 28-35.

Jasur Hasanov and Haliyana Khalid / Procedia Computer Science 72 (2015) 382 389

[14] Hausman, A.V., & Siekpe, J.S. (2009). The effect of web interface features on consumer online purchase intentions. Journal of
Business Research, 62(1), 5-13
[15] Kim, S., & Jones, C. (2009). Online shopping and moderating role of offline brand trust. Direct Marketing: An International
Journal, 3(4), 282-300.
[17] Molla, A., & Licker, P. S. (2011). E-commerce systems success: an attempt to extend and specify the Delone and Maclean
model of is success. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 2(4), 131141
[18] Jos et. al. (2003). New Research Applying SERVQUAL to Web sites: an exploratory study. International Journal of Quality &
Reliability Management, 20(8), 919-935. doi: 10.1108
[19] Sina et. al (2011). The Effects of Website Quality Dimensions on Customer Satisfaction in E-Retailing System. Middle-East
Journal of Scientific Research, 10(3), 366-369
[20] Saputra et. al (2014). The Impact of Brand Trust on Brand Loyalty with Mediation of Customer Satisfaction at Tokobagus.Com.
Paper presented at the International Conference on Emerging Trends In Academic Research, Bali, Indonesia.
[21] Billy et. al (2008). The impact of website quality on customer satisfaction and purchase intentions: Evidence from Chinese
online visitors. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 27, 391402.
[22] Cheng, et.al (2014). Factors Influencing Consumers Online Purchase Intention: A Study among University Students in
Malaysia. International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science, 2(8), 121-133.
[23] Lina et.al. (2007). Online Shopping Acceptance Model. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 8(1), 41-62.
[24] Afizah et. al (2009). Does Consumers Demographic Profile Influence Online Shopping? Canadian Social Science, 5(6), 19
[25] Justin et. al (2012). Consumer behavior and purchase intention for organic food. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 29(6), 412 422. doi: 10.1108/07363761211259223
[26] Ainin et.al (2008). E-Ticketing as a New Way of Buying Tickets: Malaysian Perceptions. Journal of Social Science, 17(2),
149-157.
[27] Rezai et. al (2013). Effect of Consumer Demographic Factors on Purchasing Herbal Products Online in Malaysia. International
Journal of Social, Education, Economics and Management Engineering, 7(8), 1108-1114
[28] Howard, J.A., & Sheth, J.N. (1969). The theory of buyer behavior. New York: John Wiley.
[29] Gwo-Guang, Lee, & Hsiu-Fen, Lin. (2005). Customer perceptions of e-service quality in online shopping. International
Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 33(2), 161-176. doi: 10.1108/09590550510581485
[30] Llusar, J.C.B., Zornoza, C.C., & Tena, A.B.E. (2001). Measuring the relationship between firm perceived quality and customer
satisfaction and its influence on purchase intentions. Total Quality Management, 12(6), 719-734

389